MIRROR IMAGINATIONS

RETNKING SUPPLY CHAINS IN THE METAVERSE

- DAMIEN MARTIN

The metaverse is where the physical and virtual worlds meet. That makes it a perfect vehicle for improving supply chains, where planning in virtual environments leads to execution on a large scale across the globe. Before organizations set their global wheels in motion, they want to set a plan of action that will yield optimal results. The metaverse can help them do that, and it can help them make adjustments on the fly, something that hasn't been logistically possibly until now. Here's how the metaverse is making supply chains truly phygital.

VISIBILITY & COLLABORATION

The metaverse can house virtual twins, digital replicas of key points along the supply chain, including factories, warehouses, and shipping routes. These give instant insight into inventory levels, production capacity, and delivery timelines. Marked with loT sensors and governed by blockchain smart contracts relying on edge computing, individual product units can mark their locations, spur automatic replenishment, and trigger price adjustments in real time to fit demand. As demand rises, people are willing to pay more for a product, but if companies can't respond to that in real time, they miss the opportunity to maximize revenue.

In virtual meeting rooms, stakeholders across supply chains can meet to walk through all links in the chain, sharing their input on the best approaches to logistical problems and make sure everyone is on the same page. This works well for both initial planning stages and making adjustments in real time to unclog bottlenecks and make better-informed decisions.